Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Watch your mouth

Have I ever said anything foolish? Have I ever spoken too quickly and then realized I sounded like a complete idiot? Have I ever said something that offended another person, even if that wasn't my intent? Well, the answer to all of these is yes. Yes, I have. It's actually pretty easy to do. We get caught up in the moment and simply blurt out the first thing that pops into our head, and being human, it isn't always something we are proud to have said.

Now, there are some folks who are always talking nonsense. I'm not really talking about them. It would be nice if they someday realized what was coming out of their mouths, but some people don't easily change. I'm talking more about the good decent folks who sometimes sound like they don't care. They said something that really wasn't well thought out. We could all stand to watch out mouths.

Here's an example of what I'm talking about: "You really don't look gay." Think about that for a moment. Recently I also heard "I had no idea. She didn't look trans at all." Are these statements meant as compliments? Oh and then there are the stereotypes regarding race, ethnicity, religion, or any number of other things, that leave you scratching your head and thinking "Did she really just say that?"

We're getting better. I was watching an old movie the other night and it was so insensitive I was insulted to think anyone actually ever talked that way, but we did. Shortly afterward, I watched an old tv sitcom, and this was so racially offensive toward Asians, that my jaw dropped. The truth is, nobody meant anything bad at the time. We just weren't thinking. Very much the same as now, we sometimes open our mouths before we think.